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May 2, 2006
Fun in the sun
Sorry I don't have any pictures, but when I grabbed my camera this morning I didn't realize the battery was dead. I hadn't charged it since BEFORE the trip to Argentina (3/10-3/18), and I've taken a fair number since then, so that should say something for the Nikon D70 battery.
Oh, well - you missed a Gothic stake-out on the Quad! We staked out the plan of the crossing at Amiens Cathedral (go here and click on plans, then choose plan of the cathedral). We watched part 2 of Stephen Murray's brilliant Amiens trilogy again (the part that's all computer animation based) and then went outside with lollipop sticks (I know, I know, but Wegman's doesn't carry tongue depressors and they were out of popsicle sticks) and string and worked it out with no measuring devices.
What this meant is that we practiced with a small square - I put in one corner and they worked out the rest (about 2 feet by 2 feet). Then, since we had a small square squared a student paced off a 50 pace side following a guideline. Then we swung some lines various ways and stuck in lollipop sticks to establish points, checked with diagonals, and called that the central crossing. Then we halved the sides by folding the string in half (I saw lots of "Ahah! THAT'S HOW THEY DID IT!" looks at that point), took the diagonal of the remaining rectangle, swung that out to establish the width of the side aisles, poked in more lollipop sticks (by now I was beginning to leave designated student/columns on point, too) and ended up with the crossing with the four major piers amplified by the side aisles on 4 sides. Opus ad quadratum, made in the measure of heaven, all without any absolute measurements. All it takes is string, sticks, a flat surface, and a memory of plane geometry.
As Murray tells us, you can then rotate the square upright and know how HIGH the church is. I think my Art 101 crew has a sense of the scale of Gothic now, and will be able to square up rectilinear projects with diagonals.
Here's the Amiens Cathedral Project website. This is the best use of computer technology in education that I know of.
Posted by CrankyProfessor at May 2, 2006 3:22 PM